Winter
by dezel
Summary: The sit in silence, listening to the crackling of the fire and she's okay with that. It's not uncomfortable nor out of malice.


_These two are difficult to write. Cliche scene is cliché._

–

"Perhaps summer would have been a better choice," Natalya doesn't say anything to that, as the pair quietly walks through the path of the woods. "Fay wouldn't be as much of a problem as they are now." Lukas _had_ invited her in the summertime, but Natalya had declined for a variety of reasons, mostly out of disinterest and dislike of being approached so casually and confrontational like he had. It was part of his personality though, to be straight-forward but polite and he _had_ backed off immediately.

She gives Lukas a side-long glance. "Doesn't matter to me," she finally says. She can see her breath. Going out this late at night doesn't bother her, despite temperatures being so cold. The stars twinkle above the evergreens, that rise towards the dark sky. The moon lights their path, and she can hear faint giggling from playful fay. She eventually changed her mind and sent him an email, saying that she _does_ want to visit.

It's not political as these types of trips usually are, instead, it's more friendly. Part of her is glad that she came, because Ivan always rejects her and Katya is always so busy, it's left her feeling lonely. She can only handle so much of Alfred before pulling a knife on him and for some reason, everyone is scared of her like they are of her brother.

They go off the path after awhile, Lukas knows his own lands and Natalya only half willfully follows. She's curious to see where he's leading her, curious to see more of his country that is beautiful, but no more beautiful than hers. The snow crunching beneath their boots is the only sound filling the air. He doesn't force conversation, and she's not really interested in talking.

He leads her through a few bushes, and she spots some deer prancing around and hears rustling from prey animals out searching for food. The walk is freezing, and it takes quite awhile, but at some point, they reach a clearing. Now that Natalya thinks about it, they're quite far from his cabin.

She nearly runs right into him when she stops abruptly. "Hey!"

There's a short pause from him, and something's being shoved into her arms. "Here. You look cold." His cheeks are red, hair a bit disheveled, and he, himself is shivering. "Don't want you going home sick or catching hypothermia."

Natalya accepts the jacket from him, after a moment. "I'm used to the cold." She says, flatly. "Remember, I grew up in big brother's place _and_ my house gets cold too." Natalya puts the jacket on anyways. It's still warm and smells smokey.

Lukas doesn't reply, and takes her hand, now leading her towards the edge of the cliff she realizes they were on. No wonder the climb had been so steep.

"My friend said that I should take you out here," Lukas says. "I think it's pretty."

"It's alright." His _friend_ is that damn troll of his. She doesn't really like that stupid troll.

She detects a hint of a smile at that. "Think so?"

"I _guess_." Mountains loom all around them, and far below, she sees a lake or perhaps it's a river and lights that look so small, they could be mistaken for fireflies. Below, is a tiny village in a little valley. It's picturesque, against the dark sky and bright stars, full moon and she's sure it's every photographer's dream to get a picture of this.

They sit in the snow, peering out silently at the scenery and she listens to the fay talk and watches them play. Lukas' wealth in land and money is enviable, his looks only make things worse, and it only sort of pisses her off to know that he's also _nice_ when rich, good looking guys are supposed to be stuck up assholes. Yet, she's more jealous that his siblings like him, while hers...not so much.

Natalya only lets a small shiver escape, from a nipping breeze and only just _slightly_ , she leans up against him. Lukas tenses a little, but doesn't move. Finally, he wraps his arm around her waist, and it's her turn to tense up, unused to this type of affection. They remain still and silent for what feels like a few seconds to an eternity before he leans down and gently presses a kiss to the top of her head.

After that, he stands up. "Better get back, yeah? It's late." He says this as he wipes the snow off of him, and she follows the suit. The walk back doesn't feel as long, nor does it feel as nice as it did. Just as before, she spots some deer and a fay darts ahead of them and his troll quickly follows. "I guess they like you if they are playing like they are."

"Do they not play around other countries?" She can't help but ask this, it comes out quickly and before she can censor herself.

"They do not. They do not like to reveal themselves this often, not even 'round Arthur or Mihai."

"I wouldn't want to either." She hears a soft chuckle from Lukas. "They're annoying."

When they get back, Natalya is freezing and tired, and Lukas gets the fire going despite the heat being on. He tells her to go bathe, if she would like to and she does. Once she gets out, and dressed in pajama's, she's feeling only a little better and hears the soft clink of glasses, and heads into the kitchen area where he's filling up two mugs.

"Here," He says, once he sees her. "Hot chocolate. I know it's late, but it sounded like a good idea."

Natalya accepts the glass from him, and sits down at the wooden table and he joins her. It's sweet, and it strangely reminds her of her sister and she's struck with a weird sadness. They sit in silence, listening to the soft crackling of the fire, and that's okay with her. It's not uncomfortable, it's not out of malice; they don't need to talk. It isn't like them to fill the air with senseless chatter. And she quite likes it.


End file.
